Christian – Long walks and dark chocolate

Cali; the gift that keeps on giving

July 28, 2016 6 Comments

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The prompt was “Crisis” and since NICU parents deal with this all the time, I thought this was appropriate.

My daughter and I had a great day with our little Cali yesterday. I blogged before about Cali’s premature arrival and the complications she has faced since. She is 3 ½ months old and we still don’t have a homecoming date.

We stayed in Miami last night so we were with her until around 9pm and my daughter even got to help give her baby a bath for the second time ever. It’s tricky with a PIC line. Also, when you live over 80 miles away and spend most of your days here, and the baths are given at night, it’s tougher to participate. Last night was the first time I had ever seen my beautiful little granddaughter’s skinny little behind. What a sight to behold!

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All Clean!!

We got up this morning and had breakfast, anxious to arrive at the hospital. In good spirits, I parked the car and I chose the stairs as my daughter took the elevator. We usually park on the 5^th floor but I always beat her by taking the stairs. And believe me; I need the exercise with the delectable guava pastries (stress eating) that Nicklaus Children’s Hospital serves. Leave it to me to know about the food.

There was a long line at the check in and since I had left my monthly pass in the car (and I wasn’t going back outside and up those stairs or in the sweltering parking lot elevator) I had to wait in it. Impatiently, Morgan flashed her pass and went on up to the 2^nd floor, eager to see Cali.

When I arrived in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) a few minutes later, I could tell by Morgan’s face that something was wrong. The nurse explained that Cali had begun vomiting last night and her heart rate had dropped a little a few times. This can mean so many things, but they were immediately stopping all food and doing blood work to rule out infection. They asked us to leave so they could insert a second tube in her nose (opposite nostril from feeding tube) to pull excess air from her stomach.

My eyes welled up and in all seriousness, I wanted to curl up on the floor and cry. However motherhood kicked in and I knew I had to be strong for my baby girl. We went to the waiting room until the procedures were over and then my baby girl wanted to hold her baby girl. I sat in a chair beside her, more for moral support than anything. Cali slept and I looked around the room, which currently is home to approximately 7 babies; I overheard them say they have a total of 42 patients in NICU right now, which I understand is a lot for them.

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Morgan and Cali

There are babies in much more serious condition than Cali’s. There are older ones, younger ones, bigger and smaller. Some cry a lot and some you never hear a peep out of (at least when I’m there). I pray for all of them and I ache for the parents and what they are going through.

They come here from all over, show their ID or passes, push buttons so doors will open and wash their hands thoroughly multiple times per day. They sit in a room that is filled with beeping machines that have the power to give them quite a scare and they listen and try to understand as doctors and nurses reveal plans and strategies. Some of their children are growing out of the clothes and diapers they got at baby showers and some have even outgrown some of the toys.

Yet, they face each crisis with a strength that I had never seen before, having had two healthy, and delivered at-term babies. I look at them and not only compassion floods my soul, but also respect and admiration. I will shed tears in my prayers over this little world I didn’t realize existed until April 13^th. Sure, I knew there were sick babies, but I had no idea of the big picture.

I have focused on one small group of breaking hearts in my post, yet there are hundreds of others. More people going through this life with a heavy load and dealing with things we can’t imagine unless we have been there.

I know I’ve said this over and over, but let’s give people the benefit of the doubt because we truly don’t know. That lady in line in front of you with the blank look on her face who doesn’t hear the cashier saying, “Next, please”, could have been my daughter this morning. Be patient with her.

We are praying and believe that Cali will bounce back from this step backwards and come home quickly and give her doctor’s a shock. This journey is increasing our faith and our strength and I thank God for that. God will continue to provide the strength, mercy and grace for each and every day. He always does!

I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank the amazing team of doctors, nurses and all other staff at Nicklaus. We couldn’t be in better, more caring hands and I’m truly grateful. Oh, and a special kudos also to the cafeteria staff for their tasty creations and their smiles of concern. We also have the best friends and family ever and our community has rallied around us like a great wall of love and protection. There is NO way to begin to thank them all appropriately!

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Inspirational, Uncategorized Tagged With: Cali, empathy, Family, God, love, Nicklaus, NICU

Life is a saga

May 22, 2016 3 Comments

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Life is a saga, a long and complicated story with many details. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you live very long at all this applies. Our life begins on page one, with our birth and if you have ever been in a room of women discussing childbirth, that can be a saga in itself. We live, we learn, we grow and we change.

We all have a story but it’s what we do with our stories that can make a difference. I was discussing this a little bit in my Sunday school class this morning. We go through things sometimes that make no sense, seasons filled with trials and tribulations. They are going to touch each one of us, but oh the difference when we allow God to teach us through them instead of sinking and wallowing in a big warm pile of self-pity.

I’m not saying not to grieve or that it’s wrong to cry, but when we’re done, get up and move on and let what we have learned, even when it was a tough, teach someone else. Some of the things I have been through in my life have allowed me to counsel or encourage other mothers or wives who are now going through the same thing. Can God really take that year of weeping and hurting and use it to impart healing in someone else? Why, yes He can and I can attest to having been on the giving and receiving end of both trial and help.

At times we try to pretend like we don’t know the meaning of grief or affliction and I’m not sure why, as we all are familiar with its sting. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, as long as we are this side of heaven, we will encounter difficulty. It’s how we deal with it that sets us apart.

Wouldn’t it be great to know that your saga didn’t end at your death because even after your demise other lives were still touched because of you? I think we all want to leave this world knowing we have imparted wisdom, hope and truth into others.

I was cleaning out a closet the other day and found an old journal of my mother’s. I’m sure I saw it and positive that I would have looked inside near the time of her death. The other day coming across the old treasure again I opened it up and saw that old familiar handwriting on the yellowing front page. For some reason I leafed through the other pages and buried in the middle were about five more pages that I had never seen before. They were written in and around December of 95’ and into the first months of January 96’. Mom died in June of 96’ so these “new” words were like gold to me. They were a new discovery of some of her personal thoughts in her final months. More of the saga of her much shortened life and they meant so much to me. They touched me and as I read them, I again felt her faith and strength. She imparted another precious gift to me almost twenty years after she met Jesus.

I was blessed to have a mother whose wisdom and guidance has served me well over the course of my life. Whether we are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters or friends, we too can choose to let our stories help us grow into better people and use their lessons to love on others. Isn’t that part of what love is all about?

Daily Prompt: Saga

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Inspirational, Uncategorized Tagged With: Daily Post, Daily Prompt, Family, God, life, love, saga, stories

You can’t change their spots

May 12, 2016 3 Comments

My love and I in 94′

Since I like to impart knowledge to the younger crowd, I listen to their conversations with great attentiveness to things that bother them. When I hear them discussing relationships, my ears perk up because I have been married for 22 years and let’s just say I’ve learned a lot. So, in an attempt to save someone a little heartache or just to make you think, I wanted to share some thoughts. If you are currently in a relationship, it would behoove you to take great care to notice the things that irritate you now. Once you have been married for a few years, they will irritate you more. That cute little snuffling snore will become something you despise. Trust me on this one. I write more about it at Sleeping with the Enemy .

A good marriage is work; it doesn’t just happen and it’s not 50/50 like so many say; it requires each giving 100% for the best shot at making it work. Because it isn’t easy, you should be careful when you begin to consider a spouse; someone you intend to spend your life with (because in my opinion that should be the goal at the onset). If you are looking at it as something you can jump out of at a whim, you’re going in with the wrong attitude. Unfortunately, that seems to be how many younger folks see it, but I digress.

One of the things to consider is the fact that you cannot change someone. They are who and what they are and no amount of whining, griping, threatening, withholding or pouting is going to change that. That will only serve to make both of you more miserable. So, if you already have a growing list of the many things you do not like about your “love”, you better think long and hard about this.

When you’ve been married a couple of years and the baby has been up all night, the ac is out and your checkbook is in the negative, it takes patience and stick-to-itiveness. At times like these, when your knight in shining armor has let his facial hair get all prickly and he is sitting in his favorite spot in his boxers all puffed up like toad, you have to dig deep, sister. It’s not always like the movies…wait, it’s rarely ever like the movies.

What I am trying to convey is, don’t settle now thinking that your Mr. (or Mrs.) with the problem(s) is going to change once you marry, or once you have a baby, or once they get a job they like. If they have an addiction problem, they are going to carry it into the marriage and, in my opinion, keep it until they allow God to deliver them. If your “girl” has a spending problem, and you are very frugal, think twice or you might be paying off credit card debt for decades. If they aren’t romantic and you are sappy and schmaltzy and not happy if you aren’t having dinner by candlelight, think it through. I hear way too many of you young ones say, “Things will change when X happens”. No, they won’t. Don’t fool yourself.

No marriage is perfect, but figure out what your deal breakers are. I am saying this as a woman with a failed first marriage that lasted 10 years and a 2^nd one that has lasted 22. I love my husband dearly and I am grateful that we can talk things through and we have overcome many obstacles and have been through many storms together. We had family values in common and that is important. We don’t believe in going to bed mad so we don’t let things fester and get bitter over them. We are experts in the art of compromise. I would be remiss if I didn’t give glory to God for giving me the faith, grace and love to be a godly wife as I’m sure things wouldn’t have gone as well without His divine hand.

Remember what real love is and ask yourself if this is the kind of love you have. Obviously we all fail at some of this at times, but following is a good set of scriptures to meditate on and have been a source of strength for me in the darker hours. In the words of St Paul – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: Family, God, love, marriage, Relationships

Laughing with Mother

May 8, 2016 2 Comments

Mom loved getting cards!

With vivid clarity, I can remember her laughter coming from the other side of the Hallmark aisle, where she had found a card funnier than the one we had just shared a laugh over. She would say, “We better stop laughing so loud, or they are going to kick us out of here”. My sister will remember the good times in the Hallmark stores with Mother too. She loved cards, loved giving and receiving them and we could spend half an hour finding funny ones and reading them aloud to each other. Then, we would get the giggles and with tears coming from our eyes and our bellies sore from laughing, we would finally move on to another store.

This is just one of the memories I cherish with Mother, who went home to be with the Lord almost 20 years ago.

A couple of days ago, when I walked the aisles of the card store, picking out cards, I felt that old, familiar pang of loss like I always do around Mother’s Day and several other times throughout the year. You don’t ever stop missing a presence that made your world brighter. My mom was like a ray of sweet sunshine and anyone who knew her can attest to that.

So, for those missing your mom on this special day, who like me, have already experienced their departure from this world, take time to honor their memory today. Look at old pictures, laugh, reminisce. You can have one of those downright ugly cries and use a whole box of tissues if you need to. But when you’re done, get up and honor that memory by being the best mom you can be.

For those of you who have lost children or desperately long for them and are unable to bear them, my heart breaks for you and I pray God’s peace and presence with you on this day and always. If you don’t have children of your own, or yours are grown and gone, there are plenty in this world that need a mother figure to guide them. Surely there is one out there, just waiting and yearning for your nurturing. God instilled that nurturing in us and we can greatly impact this world if we share it freely and broadly.

And for those of you who don’t know your mother, don’t feel like you have one or maybe your childhood wasn’t like the ones you dreamed about; God bless you! And in the words of my daughter last night at dinner, “Jesus can be a mother or father to anyone who needs Him to be”. Yes He can. He can fulfill any desire that your heart is longing for.

Happy Mother’s Day my friends. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: God, Grief Loss and Bereavement, love, Mother daughter relationship, Mother's Day

When life throws a curve ball

April 29, 2016 18 Comments

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It has been over a month since I’ve shared anything I have written and when I saw today’s prompt, “Curve”, I knew it was time.

When life throws a curve ball, we can back away in fear, freeze up and hope it flies by quickly with no pain, or we can plant our feet firmly, bend those knees and get ready to knock it out of the park. I am certainly no baseball expert, but you get my point.

With that said, let’s back up to the end of March when my youngest daughter’s pregnancy was going along smoothly. We had big plans for purchasing must have items, getting the baby room ready; you know… the normal things you do at this part of the journey.

Early April, she went for an ultrasound that indicated a problem with baby’s tummy, so she went to a specialist and found out she would likely be having a planned C-section and her baby would be having surgery to correct whatever the “bowel problem” was. The goal was to have her reach at least 36-38 weeks. This was our first curve ball and we all braced ourselves, thanked God that it wasn’t anything worse and re-evaluated plans.

As her little belly grew substantially due to the increase in amniotic fluid, she looked as though she would burst, and that she did at 32 weeks. Well, I guess burst is a strong word but I got a call in the wee hours of April 13^th, where her calm voice said, “Mom, my water broke, I guess we should go to the hospital”. Second curve ball here, and I was a little concerned because the specialist had just said the day before, “What we don’t want to happen is for her water to break and cause a placental abruption (tearing placenta away from uterus), as this will cause more complications”. Need I tell you exactly what happened?

Little Cali was born sporting a distended little belly not even an hour after arriving at the hospital via an emergency cesarean. Hours later, I stood with friends and family and watched a helicopter lift off taking her to Miami Children’s Hospital as my daughter, having lost 4 units of blood, was receiving transfusions and already lamenting being apart from her firstborn. The following day Cali had surgery and we breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God again when we received the news that she had done great.

Our daughter was having issues getting blood pressure down although she had never had a moment’s trouble with it before, more blood was needed and no one could see Cali except her mom or her dad. There were times when I felt like I was on a spinning ride at the fair, nauseous and needing to get off, but there was no end in sight. However, most of the time, I felt peace; wonderful, beautiful peace.

You see, I believe the entire bible and I know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. I know that God has a plan, whether I can see it or understand it and I have faith that He will be with me through the storms of life. He has been for years. Specific storms may cease, but storms in general will continue to show up in this life. We all anxiously await a time when everything is comfy, cozy and peaceful forevermore and that won’t happen this side of heaven. The sooner we realize that and come to terms with it; we will stop waiting for tomorrow and live in the present.

With God on my side, I can brace up against the storms of life, knowing I have an advocate. Don’t bother questioning me about His faithfulness because I am a lifelong fan. With Him on my side, I can face any curve ball that life throws me with the confidence that He will never leave me or forsake me. Like my favorite song says, “Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm”.

We have felt the love and hand of God in so many ways in the past few weeks. We felt it as we held hands with our loyal and faithful Pastor as she led us in prayer, we felt it in the love expressed by family, friends and community, we felt it when doctors used the word “miracle”. We have received monetary donations, cards, gifts, phone calls, messages, fundraisers lovingly set up by friends, hotel bookings, decals for our cars, flowers, food, house cleaning, baby crib and room finishing and most importantly lots of prayers! I have probably forgotten something and if I have, I ask for mercy. The outpouring of love has been overwhelming and our families will never forget it.

So, batter up – face that pitch – Thank you for your prayers for our baby Cali. She is doing very well and we are trusting God for His will.

The pitcher has got only a ball. I’ve got a bat. So the percentage of weapons is in my favor and I let the fellow with the ball do the fretting.

— Hank Aaron

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: babies, childbirth, children, granddaughter, grandparent, premature

Daily Prompt: Longing

March 3, 2016 3 Comments

SONY DSC The Daily Prompt was to write about Longing

Longing implies an intense craving or ache for something or someone. From a temporal perspective, the most poignant experience I’ve had with longing is for my mother who passed away in 96’. There have been times especially early on, when I would have given almost anything for her advice one more time, or to hear her call me “sugar”. I could say the same about many friends and loved ones who are dearly missed.

The second example that I’m familiar with are the times I’ve had the intense longing to see my children. Both of them moved away after high school. One of them has since returned and lives nearby, but my eldest is still too many miles away to meet for lunch or just stop by. As a mother, it’s not even that you just desire their presence, you often long for the way things used to be. We want them to grow up and become their own person, but at the same time, we want to hold them forever. It’s an emotional quandary at times.

As the years roll by, another longing becomes apparent to me. It’s one that I was never too familiar with in my younger days; a longing for the past. As we grow older in a world that grows more violent and a society that seems to degrade by the minute, we long for simpler times, for peace and for the way things used to be. We long for the people we miss, a chance to do some things over again and as our thoughts drift to our own mortality, we long to know we have done the best we could do. For those of us who are Christ followers, we long to see the salvation of others.

However, speaking from a spiritual perspective, the first thing that came to mind when I read the topic for today’s prompt was a C.S. Lewis quote which it one of my favorites. It says, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Although I have experienced longing in this life, there is something deep inside that is never fully satisfied and I know it won’t be this side of heaven. This is a longing for my heavenly home when God has fulfilled His divine purpose for me on this earth. It’s His call, in His own timing and I don’t worry myself about it. I do believe that when I get there, I will never again long for anything.

Filed Under: Christian, Uncategorized Tagged With: Daily Prompt, desires, God, longing

Storms never last

February 24, 2016 2 Comments

Storms never last

I sit inside in my favorite chair wrapped in a cozy blanket. Its day three of nursing something yet undiagnosed, but I can tell you I haven’t the energy to do much more than sit. I am looking out the window to my left, watching the rain fall down vertically at an angle. I notice this and assume it to be an effect of the wind. I can still hear the birds chirping, which sounds eerie based on the appearance of things out there. I wonder if they are attempting to guide others home or if a mama bird has lost a child. If God’s eye is on the sparrow, I am quite certain they know what to do and where to go in a storm.

Just as God guides His creatures, He will guide us through the storms of life, if we will but let Him. Our problem is that we want to do it our way without help from anyone. Yes, we much prefer to captain our own vessels through the waves and the rocks, the tropical force winds and pelting rain and hail. In the midst of a great storm, direction can become meaningless and we can find ourselves at the mercy of the wind, blowing us where it will. Often, it’s only after we are bruised and battered that we will begin to call upon the Great Rescuer.

So, as I watch the rain drizzle down the windowpanes and I reflect on the many storms of life that His love has carried me through, I cannot help but express my gratitude in praise to Him.

For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat Isaiah 25:4

Filed Under: Christian, Uncategorized Tagged With: God, rescue, storms, weather

Where were you at midnight?

January 1, 2016 3 Comments

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The Daily Prompt read “Where were you last night at midnight? Would you have wanted to be somewhere else?”

At midnight, I was snug as a bug in my bed and had been for several hours. If you’ve read my blogs before you might already know, that although I love owls, I am not a nocturnal creature. I more accurately resemble the pygmy owls who are crepuscular, from what I’ve read. This means they are active closer to dawn and dusk.

I saw posts on social media last night about people getting ready to go out and on television one guy was impatiently waiting on the ball to drop. He had been camped out since 11:00 am. It makes me tired even thinking of staying up that late. And for what? To watch a huge, lighted ball travel down a flag pole? Let me think about that. Um. Okay. No. But, to each their own; I know people who have that on their bucket list.

I ate my favorite organic pizza, took a nice hot bath, prayed about the coming new year and went to bed at 9:00 pm. It’s safe to say I was out cold by 9:30. I’m pretty sure I had already nodded off on the couch prior to that. I woke up early and started on the black-eyed peas, pork and greens; not because I think it brings me luck, but because it’s a family tradition, it was all on sale and it’s good food.

Today, as I see posts on Facebook it seems that some people are vexed about the old adage, “new year, new me”. Personally, I think any time is a good time to reflect, to make resolutions to do more for others, or be a better person. I’m not sure there is anyone out there who wouldn’t benefit from spending a little time looking in the mirror, re-evaluating their priorities and re-focusing on their Creator.

I think we all want to be better than the person we were yesterday and with God’s help, I plan to reach new goals this year.

Happy New Year and May God Bless You all Richly!

Lisa

Filed Under: Christian, Uncategorized Tagged With: Daily Prompt, New Year, nocturnal, owls

Beacon of love

December 21, 2015 4 Comments

Chocolate peppermint cookies

Scarlett hastily scraped up the last bit of cookie dough as she thought, “Yes, that’s enough for one more cookie”. Plopping the last gooey bit on the cookie sheet, she licked her fingers, and then silently wondered if the minuscule amount of raw egg she had ingested contained Salmonella. “Oh well, it’s too late to worry about it now”, she mused. She opened the oven door, slid the pan in and set the timer.

Now, she only had to wait approximately 15 minutes, for delicious chewy goodness. That left plenty of time to address the remaining Christmas cards and perhaps wrap one more gift. She was looking forward to sitting down to watch a Christmas movie, with a plate full of cookies and a cold glass of milk. But first, as soon as the cookies came out of the oven, she was running a nice warm bubble bath. Tonight she would relax; tonight was about her.

“Scarlett, honey, are you home?” Mrs. Avery’s warbled voice pierced the silence at that moment reminding Scarlett of an old worn record that had reached the end of play and needed to be removed from the turn table. Oh no, not tonight. Scarlett seriously considered remaining silent, hiding in her bedroom. She could wait there for Mrs. Avery to turn her support hose ridden little legs planted firmly in their reliable, built-for-comfort loafers, back towards home. Mrs. Avery was patient tonight though. That crazy feline fur ball of hers must be loose again and Scarlett was in no mood to go looking for her.

Scarlett figured she might as well get whatever it was over with so she could resume her night of relaxation. As she opened the door, she noticed that Mrs. Avery’s grey hair was all she could see sticking up from behind the stack of beautiful packages she carried. They were brightly adorned in Christmas wrappings with festive pinecones and sprigs of holly instead of bows. Scarlett immediately felt regretful for her earlier ill-mannered decision to delay answering the door. She had unknowingly caused a frail woman of 83 to stand outside under the weight of this colorful burden.

“Come in, please. Let me help you with those packages. Where are you going with all of this?” asked Scarlett. “Oh, they are all for you my dear. I probably went a bit overboard wrapping mostly food stuff, but I wanted to bless you”, replied Mrs. Avery. “Go ahead and open them up as they will need to be refrigerated.”

As Scarlett opened boxes containing homemade meals, complete with desserts her eyes filled with tears. “You did all of this, just for me?” she asked. “Well, I see you getting home after work every day and most nights you have to rush right back off for class. I know you don’t eat right because I see you cleaning out the fast food bags from your car. I thought the best gift I could give you was the gift of time, so I prepared a couple of weeks’ worth of meals so you will to be able to just relax and enjoy yourself when you do finally get home. I know your family is far away and you aren’t going to make it home this year. I pray for you every day and I wanted to bless you.”

Scarlett was overwhelmed with shame that she had even considered ignoring this beacon of light. She was also suddenly reminded of what Christmas was all about. She thought about the Christmas plays back at home and her dad reading the Christmas story from the big black bible. Jesus came to give the greatest gift. Scarlett had received that precious gift of salvation as a child, and she was thankful that Mrs. Avery had reminded her about what this season was really all about. She made a mental note to find out what time the Christmas services were at her local church and see if Mrs. Avery had plans.

For now though, the timer was going off on her oven, so she excused herself to remove the cookies. As she returned, she said, “Mrs. Avery, were you doing anything special tonight?” Mrs. Avery smiled and said, “No, I was just going to go home and call a friend and perhaps do some reading or watch that new Christmas movie”.

“That’s great!” said Scarlett. “I have warm cookies, just out of the oven. How about I change into something more comfortable and bring them over and we will watch that movie together?” Mrs. Avery squeezed Scarlett’s hands in both of hers and said, “Yes, come on over, that would be delightful, my dear”.

That night began a new chapter in Scarlett’s life; her friendship with Mrs. Avery continued for many years until her precious friend left this earth to be with Jesus. Scarlett would always remember the tiny little woman, full of life and faith and love and she would always try to be “Mrs. Avery” to someone.

Filed Under: Christian, Family and Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: God

The yard shoes go to church

December 13, 2015 2 Comments

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Last Wednesday night, I was extremely tired. It was that kind of tired where all I could think about was snuggling in my comfy bed and watching nothing but the back of my eyelids for several hours. Pushing myself through it, I got ready for church, decided what shoes to wear, and put them near the front door so they would be waiting for me as I dashed out the door. I had on a top in browns, green and tan with blue jeans, so I picked cute tan sandals with a large tan rosette-looking decoration on top.

Since I was now ready, I sat down at my computer to try to write a little before I left for church. Several minutes later I looked at the clock and realized I needed to leave immediately, or risk being late. Late is something I do not like to be so I jumped up, grabbed my bag, slipped shoes on and in seconds, I was on my way. The parking lot was crowded, so I parked in back, in a darkened area and walked towards the front door. Just as I was crossing the threshold, I glanced down and was horrified to find that I had mistakenly slipped on my nasty yard shoes. They are lovely grey and pink croc flip flops that have seen their better days. They are several years old and adorned with paint splatter. I was so embarrassed. I expressed my distress to my friend, who was greeting folks at the front door and he said, “No one will even notice”. This was the answer I would expect coming from a man’s perspective so it didn’t allay my mortification in the least.

I made it to my seat without detection (I think). I stood there through praise and worship, hoping no one saw my feet, which admittedly is not what I should have been thinking about. When we sat down I did my best to hide them under my seat. As embarrassed as I was, I was also angry with myself that I was prideful enough to care so much about my mistake. The scripture came to me from Ephesians 6:15 about having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I smiled because of the ridiculousness of my worries and because it’s just like God to remind me of the important things.

As long as my spiritual feet are shod with the gospel of peace, which means that symbolically I have put on peace as part of my spiritual armor, I am armed with the peace that comes from the Good News.

My family got a good laugh when I got home and shared my blunder but throughout the week, I have been thinking about feet and my walk and how and where my walk should take me and how I prepare for that. So, it just goes to show that even in our silliness, we often find a lesson.